ENCOURAGING THRIET.

Taranaki Daily News, 9 December 1922, Page 11

ENCOURAGING THR IE T.

SUCCESS OF SAVINGS CERTIFICATES. L. The success of the efforts made in Britain to obtain contributions toward the cost of winning the war by means of savings certificates had led to the permanent establishment of a national savings movement, by which small investors are able to place their savings in State securities here is a voluntary organisation in charge of the movement, with local committees throughout the country. Presiding at the annual meeting of the national committee, the chairman, Lord Islington, formerly Governor of New Zealand, said that the number of certificates sold up to August 31 had been nearly 529,000,000, with a cash value of £459,144,504, and the withdrawals had been in spite of the trade depression, only £115,079,000. He believed thy movement was built on a thoroughly sound economic foundation. As a result c.f the war there was no doubt that material wealth to-day was far more evenly distributed among the population than had hitherto been the case. By successfully providing for the small investor, the savings movement had solved a very difficult problem in connection with political economies. The movement had revealed to an extraordinary extent how great was the reservoir; it was greater than anybody had imagined. After 2% years’ work he could say the movement was a going concern and one of the most important of the economic and social movements in the country to-day. The president of the movement, Sir Robert Kindersley, added an appeal for Labour’s support. He had failed to get the full support of Labour during the war. Had the movement had their support at that period he had no doubt that there would have been hundreds of thousands of homes where misery and unhappiness would have been averted by having 1 available money saved during the war. If Labour would now give their aid to the movement they would be helping to rebuild the wealth of the nation on a broader basis, so that it might be in the hands of the many instead of the few.